Change Isn't Easy
by bheun7
Summary: This story takes place in the Enchanted Forest however they aren't there for a year, I sped thr timeline up a e story will later move onto their time in follows the shoe pretty closely with some additions/changes Main romantic relationship is that of The Evil Queen/Regina and Robin Hood other relationships. This is my first fanfiction do I hope it is enjoyable.
1. Chapter 1: The Enchanted Forest

Change Isn't Easy

I don't own anything about Once Upon A Time; everything here is my interpretation of the characters and their stories.

Chapter 1: Enchanted Forest

Well, at least the spell worked and they have all been softly returned to the Enchanted Forest, all but Henry and Emma that is. The Charming and her decided it would be best to head straight for their castle, and that everyone was to come with them so they all had someplace to stay. She didn't really care because she had a plan of her own, she decided that the only way to deal with the pain in her chest and the longing for Henry was to put her in a sleeping curse. She would sleep until Henry could find his way back to her. She knew no one would even notice her absence because every person hated the Evil Queen, so her absence would only mean happiness for everyone else.

They were walking through the Forest and Snow White had the nerve to come up and speak to her.

"How are you doing Regina?" She asks.

Regina stops in her tracks and sharply replies to Snow saying

"How do you think I am doing? My son is in New York with no recollection of who I am and the life we had together for 11 years."

Snow was a little offended by this comment, and says "I understand you are upset, in case you have forgotten, my daughter drove off in that car with your son. My daughter who I had to give up because of your first curse, then 28 years later I am reunited with her, and then a year later I have to watch her leave me again. I have no idea if/when I will ever see Emma again, but you don't see me walking around curing the world for my problems. I would rather focus on the possibility of finding her again, and staying optimistic about this new life here in the Enchanted Forest."

This silenced Regina, and made walk away from Snow, because she didn't want to deal with her right now.

That is when they were attacked by some sort of beast, that looked like a monkey with wings. It came and attacked her and snow, but before she could do anything someone shot an arrow at it. She looked up and saw that it was Robin Hood who had his hand extended to them. Snow accepted it, but Regina ignored it and got up on her own. They continued their walk in silence and a few minutes later she saw this creature coming towards this small boy who was walking in front of her. Her maternal instinct kicked in and she shielded the boy and turned the beast into a plush toy. She saw the boy run to his father, Robin Hood, and she turned to the boy and said "See, not so scary now, is it?" and she handed the boy the doll. With a simple "Thank you" from the thief and walked away. The next thing she knew they were approaching her castle. Charming was walking straight towards it when she stopped him.

"There is a spell protecting the Castle, you can't get in without lowering the spell." He looked at her and said

"so me and my men will charge the castle."

And she laughed at him. "What a great plan Charming! Then you will all simply be blasted backwards from the shield, but if you really want to, by all means, be my guest!"

With that comment Snow White shot her a look and said

"Well then Regina, what to do propose we do?"

So she shared her plan with the group "I will enter the Castle via the tunnels, they will probably be unaffected by the shield. Then I will lower the shield so you can enter the castle."

"I'm coming with you" said Snow.

"No, you will not. I am plenty capable of lowering a shield on my own, and I do not need yours, or anyone else's assistance."

What she didn't see was that Robin Hood was looking at her and had decided that she was not going to do this alone.

Regina walked through the Forest until she saw the bolder that covered the opening to the tunnels. With her magic, she lifted the boulder and threw it the side. That's when she heard a sound, and when she turned around and saw him.

"What do you think you're doing here?" she said to him.

"I thought you could use some help. And whether you chose to accept it or not, I owe you a debt. You saved my son back there, and I know that that beast was not coming after him, but rather it was you they were targeting."

"And how do you know this, thief?" she retorted.

"I have seen many animals track their prey, and that animal was after you." That sure made her quiet.

"Well then I guess I am not going to talk you out of this, am I?"

"No, you're not!"

"Well then, you can come. Just _do not _get in my way!"  
"I wouldn't dream of it!" she said with a smirk on his lips.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

They walked through the tunnels making a little bit of idol conversation; he had mentioned his wife and she had inquired how she had died. He told her that he had inadvertently put her in danger and that he hated that is son no longer had a mother figure in his life. Regina felt bad for the man, but mostly for that poor boy who lost his mother and had a thief for a father. She stopped abruptly when she saw that the door was opened.

"That door is open? It should not be open" she said.

He questioned her saying "Maybe you forgot to lock it" and with that remark he got a glare from her.

"The door was sealed with blood magic, not even the most powerful sorcerer can break that, only I can." With that she headed into the room, her crypt.

"What is this place?" he asked.

"Isn't obvious? It's a crypt" she said jovially.

"Whom is it for?" he inquired.

"My Mother" she replied snidely.

After entering the castle she walked straight to her cambers, where she had found a box of ingredients. He questioned her intent with these ingredients, which is when she told him her plan. "I'm making a sleeping curse. I will use it to put myself to sleep and my only true love can awaken me, my son." "Oh don't worry, I will lower the shield for the Charmings first like I promised, but then I will go to sleep"

He did kept questioning her so she froze him to the floor and walked to the courtyard to lower the shield. She lowered the shield and walked to sit down. She apologized to Henry and was about to prick he finger when she heard

"You weren't even going to say goodbye? No that is any way to treat a guest in your castle" she turned and says a woman standing in front of her. She had never seen this woman before, after all she would remember a woman with green skin, she thought.

"Who are you?" Regina questioned.

"You can call me Zelina" the woman said. When Regina continued to question this woman she finally got an answer that shook her to the core.

"Cora really never told you did she? We're sisters, well half-sisters technically."

"I am and only child. I think I would know if my mother had a love child with a toad."

After they finished this 'talk' Zelina used her magic to conjure a broom and said

"See you later, SIS!" and laughed as she flew away. Regina stormed back to her room.

Robin was surprised when she returned. She freed him and he asked her

"Why are you still awake? Did you find something to live for?"

"Yes I found something I haven't had in a long time…Someone to DYSTORY" she said with a smirk.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

The next morning Regina woke up with a fright. She had a dream of her son, Henry, driving away from her across the town line in a beat up old yellow Volkswagen Beatle. Her heart stopped when her son turned around because he had no reason to be looking back at her, a stranger now. In order to keep herself together, she kept telling herself that this was best. He would be better off, safer, in New York City with his birth mother who would be able to protect him. He would have no memories of Peter Pan and the horrible events that took place in Neverland, and then again in Storybrooke. She knew she had done the right thing, but there was still a huge whole left in her heart because she knew she would never see her son again.

When she awoke she felt a strange combination of familiarity and yet she felt out of place. She realized immediately where she was, she was lying in her bed in her Castle in the Enchanted Forest. Oh how she hated this place. This castle only held bad memories of who she was as The Evil Queen. Yes, she had the same title in Storybrooke, but after the curse was lifted some people started to see the woman behind the name, and she had even made nice with her enemy, Snow White. Her life was finally good again, her son had not thought of her as Evil anymore, and her and Emma were almost getting along and sharing Henry. But here in the Enchanted Forest, she had no idea how people would treat her, and if she would revert back to her role as the Evil Queen.

Regina got up and started her day. She went to her wardrobe and scoffed at her clothes, she now had to go back to wearing her long velvet black dresses, because she no longer could wear her clothes she wore as Regina Mills, Mayor of Storybrooke. She looked in the mirror and the first thing she noticed was the long black hair she had now, oh how she missed her short hair which was much easier to maintain, and much lighter. After she was dressed and had her hair and make-up done, she went to the main hall of her castle. Unfortunately when she walked into the main hall, she was the whole room was filled with people. They were all gathered around tables eating breakfast, so she went a grabbed a plate and sat at an empty table she found. All Regina wanted was to be alone, and she had a couple glorious minuets to herself before _she_ came and sat down next to her.

When Snow White had arrived at the main hall, she saw Charming was sitting with the men and talking about who knows what, so she decided to look elsewhere for a seat and lever her husband to eat with his friends. That is when she saw Regina sitting be herself at a table on the other side of the room. She sat down next to her and simply said "Good Morning Regina." She could tell by the look on her face that Regina was in pain without her son here with her, and Snow felt a similar longing for her daughter. Regina just looked at her and said "Good Morning Snow." Throughout their breakfast they left their conversation with that, and neither one dug deeper, they just sat there and ate in comfortable silence.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

After breakfast Regina got up and went to bring her plate to the kitchen to be cleaned, because she was no longer accustomed to be waited on. While walking back from the kitchen she felt something hit her legs, and when she looked down she saw a small boy, about 5 years old, she recognized him as the boy she saved from the monkey. She smiled at the boy and walked away, not wanting to have to start a conversation with this boy who reminded her to much of Henry at that age. She retreated to one of her favorite places in the castle, her courtyard where her apple tree stood. She has always found solace here at her tree that she has been tending to since she was a child. It also reminds her of the apple tree in Storybrooke that grew in her backyard that she would tend to; it's also the same tree that Emma took a chainsaw to on her second or third day in Storybrooke.

Regina went to this place because she needed to be alone and she needed to understand what was going on. Why did Cora give up her daughter and why had she never told Regina. Regina then went to her vault, she felt that she had to be close to her mom, and try to wrap her head around this news. Zelina had told her that Rumpleskilskin had trained her as well as Regina, and this made her wonder why Rumple had never told her anything either. Why did they want to keep such a huge secrete from her. She also had wondered how powerful Zelina was, could Regina defeat her, could her magic be enough to defeat her Wicked sister. She knew she had to tell the others about the Witch and about her connection to her.

Later in the day the Charmings, Regina, Robin, Grumpy, Granny, Ruby and Tinkerbell all gathered in a room in the castle. They all gathered around the round table and discussed what their next move would be. Regina filled them in on the whole "the Wicked Witch Zelina, also happens to be my half-sister I never knew I had" problem and they were all dumbfounded. At least now everybody knew that Regina was not involved in anything. They all decided that they would try to find a way to defeat the Witch, together. She would put all of her feelings aside so she could work with these people. Maybe when they defeated the Witch they would be able to return to Storybrooke and maybe, just maybe, she could be reunited with Henry.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

The next day Snow woke up before her husband, and she was too excited to stay in bed so she got up and walked over to the balcony. She had forgotten how enchantingly beautiful the forest was at sunrise. She heard her David wake up so she turned around,

"Good Morning" she greeted him, and he exchanged the greeting. "You look very happy this morning" he said.

"I had forgotten how beautiful the view is. And I also have some very exciting news!" Snow says…"We're pregnant! "she just could wait any longer to tell him that they were going to have another baby.

"Are you serious? This is great" he said.

But Snow could tell in his voice that he was hesitant in his answer. She inquired as to why he didn't sound as excited as she was and he told her his fears.

"We were not there to raise Emma; I only came into her life when she was grown. I don't know how to do this, how to raise a baby. What if I am not good at it?" his wife was quick to reply

"we will do this just like we do everything else, Together. Whatever happens happens. You are a great father and this child will be lucky to have you!"

David knew his wife always knew what to say to conquer his fears; she is his rock, his cornerstone.

"We have to tell everyone, share our good news. Maybe we can help bring hope back to our people." Snow was always there bearer of hope and optimism.

First she told Regina, Aurora and Phillip, and then they were going to tell everyone else. Belle came running into the room and told them the Rumpleskilskin is alive and that he "consumed" Baelfire, and how the Witch was now controlling him with his dagger. Phillip and Aurora then told Snow that the Witch is after her baby, but that she told them she would kill them if they told Snow. Right on cue, Zelina flew in on her broom stick and naturally Charming steps up to protect his wife and unborn child. When he freezes the Charmings, and turns Aurora into Monkeys, Regina steps up and try's to defend them against her sister but she froze her as well. Zelina then went over to snow and felt the baby, before she left the room. They all stood there deciding what to do next, with Rumple under her control, who else could help them.

After this surprise run in with Zelina, they all decided to take it easy for the rest of the day so they all went their separate ways. Regina decided to go to the library, maybe she could figure out what this Witch was up to. After she had been in there for a while, she heard someone coming into the library, and she realized it was Robin Hood and his son, Roland. Roland went off to play in the large library and Robin for some reason, decided to talk to Regina.

"How are you holding up, Your Majesty?" he says.

Regina didn't know if she wanted to engage in a conversation with this thief. But she heard a voice in her head saying, "Be nice mom" and it was Henry's voice, so she finally spoke up. "Regina, please call me Regina"

"Okay then, Regina. How are you doing this evening? I didn't see you at dinner earlier" he inquired.

"I am fine, I am just trying to find a way to defeat this witch and hopefully return to my son." She tried to sound as nice as possible, but for some reason she did not like this thief. He offered his help to her and she was surprised that he wanted to help her.

"I don't think a thief will be much help against a witch"

"Wow, okay. I was just trying to help, don't forget I did save your ass from that flying money before"

"I could have handled myself, I never asked for help!" they argued.

"Come on Roland, time for bed!" and just like that Roland and Robin left the library and headed to their chambers.

"Is that really how you treat someone who is trying to help you" she heard a voice from behind her. She turned and saw Tinkerbell.

She replied "Ugh, what do you want fairy"

"Why do you have to been so brash with others? Do you really think that this is how you should be acting towards people? Is that how Henry would want you to behave? You promised you would try to be nice, for Henry."

Regina, taken aback by the fairy's comments and sat with her head down thinking about what Tink had said.

"I just don't know how to do this without him. I don't know how to be happy without him." She said with tears welling in her eyes, "I have a hole in my heart, and it hurts too much, Tink. It…it hurts! "Tinkerbell took Regina's hands in hers and held them.

"It's okay Regina. I know your trying and I know it is hard. But there are people that are here for you. Snow and me, we are your friends; you can come to us with these concerns. Just don't take it out on innocent people like Robin"

Tink said her goodbyes leaving Regina to think about all that was said. Regina soon returned to her chambers and retired for the night with Tink's words replaying her head, and some decisions to make about the new day that was staring her in the face.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

The next morning Regina went down to breakfast in the main hall. She heard Tink's voice in her head and decides to not sit by herself. She saw that there was an empty seat next to Robin and decided that this was here opportunity to make amends. So she sat down, and much to her surprise, Robin allowed her to sit there. They ate in silence for a while until she spoke up. "I would like to apologize for my behavior yesterday. I didn't mean to be so rude towards you, you definitely didn't deserve it." She said. They sat in silence for a little while longer until he finally spoke up.

"Thank you Regina. I'm sorry if I upset you, that wasn't my intention"  
"you didn't upset me, I was just upset." She said. "Why don't we start over? Hi I'm Regina!"  
"I think that is a great idea. I'm Robin. It is nice to finally meet you."  
Just as they start to become friends, he world is shifted right off its axis. She looked over at Robin's hand while she was eating and saw a lion tattoo on the inside of his right wrist. She went silent and dropped her silver wear.  
"Regina. Regina! Are you okay? Talk to me!" she hears.

She can't cope so she runs out to her courtyard in hopes to regain her breath and find her footing again. While she is out there trying to process what is going on she hears her friend Tinkerbell come from behind her.

"What's wrong Regina? I saw you freeze and run from the table."  
"No I am not okay! That man…that thief. It…it can't be him, it…can't be" she can barely form a coherent sentence.  
"Regina, you're not making sense. What's wrong"  
"remember that night you took me to the tavern and told me that inside was my soul mate?You told me that it was the man with the lion tattoo, but because I never went in, I never saw his face. Well, now I know who it is."  
"Who is it!" She asks excitedly.  
"Robin Hood…" she said shyly.  
"Oh My Gosh, Regina! What are you going to do?"  
"What do you mean, what am I going to do, I am going to ignore him, forget this ever happened."  
"You can't do that! He is your soul mate, you were meant to be together. This could be the perfect time to find love again, help you get over your heart break from losing Henry."  
"You want me to replace Henry, with the _THIEF_! No Way! I could never do that"  
"You can't run away from him again Regina. This is your second chance at happiness, do you really want to throw that away again? You're in a better place now, you're more open. This maybe the perfect time for new love, if you just give it a try."  
"This is not a good time to be to be thinking about this, I can't handle this right now." With that said Regina walked away, and never spoke of this to anyone again.

Later the usual 'leaders' of the group meet up to discuss their plans for what they will do next. They decided to go over to Rumple's castle and try to talk to him. When they got there they had seen him in a cage, and he was speaking nonsense. Regina was still reeling from finding about about Robin ans was particularly feed up with the ramblings of Rumpelstiltskin. She was glad when Belle finally got through to him.

"Rumple, talk to me. How can we beat Zelina." Bell asked.  
"Glinda, the good witch of the South." He said. "You can find her at the edge of the forest. Through the door, step inside. If pure of heart she won't hide"  
He told them where to find her and then they all left the castle and headed back to their own castle. When they got back to their castle they decided that their next move was to find the Witch. So the Charmings and Regina decide that tomorrow they will go and find this Glinda.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Regina found herself back at her favorite spot in the castle, her comfort zone, her beloved apple tree. Her head was a mess, she couldn't believe that Robin Hood, Prince of the Thieves, was her soul mate! How could that be? A Queen with the Thief, that would not be right...What would her mother say? "Thank gosh she's dead, because she would surely kill me know" Regina thought to herself. Her first true love was a stable boy, then she becomes queen married to a man she could care less about, and now she finds out her second chance at love and her new soul mate is a common thief. This can't be right, maybe the pixie dust actually failed? All she can hear is Tink's voice in her head "Pixie dust never fails!" Fortunately she is pulled form her thoughts when she hears footsteps behind her. Oddly enough she was actually a little relieved when she saw him standing there. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interupt you. I am still getting used to the whole living in a castle thing and i got lost trying to find my son." he spoke up.

"No, it's fine! I know this castle is a lot to get used to. I had a hard time when I first arrived after I married the King." she tried to sound friendly and encourage him.  
"What is this place?"  
"This is my favorite place in the whole castle. This is my courtyard. The king allowed me to bring my apple tree here when I moved in, because this tree is very special to me."  
"What is so special about this tree?"  
"I have been nursing this tree and caring for it since I was a little girl. It is my safety blanket, and I always come here to remind me of my life before it spiraled out of control. Before I became 'The Evil Queen', when I was simply Regina."  
"You can still be that person. I know you want to change and I know that you are completely capable of being that person again."  
"I don't want to be that person again, I like who I am now. I just want to be a better person, not and Evil person. I want to be happy like I was then. I haven't been that happy in a long time. I just want what I had back then...Love."

Regina could not believe she was opening up this much to him. What is it that makes her feel like she can pour her soul out to him and he will no exactly what to say to help her get through anything. Maybe she really could do this with Robin, maybe she really can have a second chance. without ever breaking eye contact her continued to stare at her, his blue eyes breaking down all of her defenses.

"You can have love again, you just need to be open to it. After my Marian died I felt like I would never be able to love again, and it took me a long to to accept that I can love again, and she would want me to. I knew i needed to pull myself together for my son, he lost his mother and he certainly didn't need to lose his father too.""How? How did you move on?"  
"It took a long time but I found someone for whom I care about. Someone I could be happy with. Once you open yourself you will see that all you want, all that you need, is standing right in front of you."

That left her speechless. Did he just say that he cared about her, and that he is there for her? She was now completely lost, and so confused. What should her next move be? She decided to be bold and brave and never look back. So she jumped in, all in. She looked to make sure no one was coming and then she grabbed his jacket and pulled him in for a deep, passionate kiss. One that sent shivers down her spine but also sent fireworks into the sky, or at least it felt that way. They pulled away from each other, stared at each other and then they engaged in another passionate kiss. Before anything got out of hand they decided to part ways, with plans of seeing each other tomorrow.

* * *

Regina woke up the next day smiling and no matter what she did, she just couldn't keep that giddy grin off her face. She dressed for the day, put her face on, and then proceeded to go to the main hall for breakfast. She entered the room and unknowingly scanned the room for Robin, and when she didn't see him she took her usual spot at an empty table. In a couple of minuets he came and sat down next to her, with his son in tow. She tried her best to hide her smile because she didn't want anyone to know what was going on. However, she was completely unaware that when he sat down and a smile did escape her lips, Snow White happened to be looking right at her at that exact moment. Snow decided that she was going to talk to her friend later about a certain thief. Meanwhile, Regina, Robin, and Roland all had a nice breakfast together and before it was over she told him to meet her later at her chambers so they can talk. It was the only place she could think of where no one would go, and where they could have some privacy. So after they said their goodbyes they both got up and went their separate ways, Robin went to see his Merry Men and Regina went to the library to do some research. Before Regina could make it to the library she ran into Tinkerbell, and she asked Tink to come with her because she needed to tell her something.

Snow White saw Regina leave the Main Hall after breakfast and decided that she was going to follow her friend so that she can question her about what she witnessed at breakfast. She saw Regina walk into the library with Tinkerbell and decided that she would proceed with her plan regardless of the added company. So she followed the two into the library and when she saw that no one else was in there she decided to walk up to them and just get right to the point.

"Hello Regina, Tinkerbell""Good Morning Snow" both women replied  
"Regina, I wanted to talk to you about what something i just saw that was slightly concerning" Snow decided to tease Regina a little.  
"What happened Snow?"  
"Well I saw a friend of mine talking to a certain thief this morning, and she looked rather happy. Now, because I care about this woman a great deal I decided it would be best if I looked into this. I would love to see that this woman has found some sort of happiness."

Snow had actually rendered Regina speechless, and earned a smirk from Tink.

"Regina, What is she talking about? You and Robin? Did you finally talk to him?" Tink questioned the Queen."I...Tink, that's what I wanted to talk to you about-"  
But before she could finished Snow chimed in "You weren't going to tell me! Come on Regina, after all this time I thought we were finally friends."  
"I was going to wait a little before I told you. I was going to tell Tink Now because we kind of have a history with him."  
"Well, please...Enlighten me!" Snow said.

"After I first married your father I was really angry, depressed, and lonely. I was always in the castle by myself while you and your father went traveling, and I was never allowed to leave so having friends was virtually impossible. I was sitting in my room one night when Tinkerbell came into my room and told me she could help me find love again, find my soul mate even. I didn't think I would get the chance to love again after Daniel."  
"I'm sorry to hear you were so unhappy with your life in the castle. I wished I could have done something for you." Snow interupted.  
"what could you have done Snow? You were just a child and back then I would never allowed you to do anything for me. I loathed you!" "Well non of that matters now. Now, where was I. So Tink told me that she had Pixie Dust that would show me who this man was so the next night we went to a tavern in which my soul mate was located. Before Tink left she told me that that man with the Lion tattoo was to be my soul mate, according to some prophecy. However, I was to scared to go in, so I ran away before I could even see his face"  
"Okay, so I don't get what this has to do with anything"  
"Well if you'll let her finish you will soon find out, and I will get to her about the juicy stuff!" Tink said to Snow.  
"You remember when I ran out of the main hall the other day?" Regina questioned Snow.  
"Yes I do, I was worried about you."  
"Well, I ran off because I saw that Lion tattoo on the wrist of the man seated next to me. Robin Hood."  
"Oh My, I understand why you ran now."  
"Yeah well after I saw this I talked to Tink about this. I wasn't sure what to do because I just lost Henry and I wasn't sure if I was in the right place to talk to him about this. My head was a mess. Well yesterday I was in my courtyard" She turns to Snow "You know how I go there to clear my head and think things over" Snow nodded. "Well I was there and all I could think about was him and this stupid prophecy and when he came into my courtyard looking for his son, we got to talking. He was telling me that I shouldn't be afraid to love again just because I am hurting because of Henry. He told me that after his wife he never thought he could love again but he thinks he may be ready to move on. Naturally I thought he was talking about some other woman until her told me that he never realized that what he wanted would e right in front of him."  
"OH MY REGINA! He was talking about _you!_" Tink Shrieked.  
Regina smiled at her friend's reaction. "Yes Tink, I know. That is when I did the most impulsive thing I have ever done. I grabbed his jacket and kissed him"She said cautiously try to see her friends reactions.  
"WOW! Look at you Regina. I'm proud of you, making the first move" Snow said while Tink was just too excited to speak.  
"thanks I guess. Well yeah so that's basically the whole story."  
"Wait, so what are you doing next" Tink questioned.  
"Well, we are meeting up later in private to discuss what happened and how we feel about it. You two are the only ones who know about this and I would like to keep it that way, got it?"  
"Our Lips are sealed" They replied."But what do _you_ want to do about it? do you want a relationship?"  
"I am not sure yet. I would like to continue to see Robin and see where this goes. I am a little nervous about the whole _relationship_ part because i han't done that in years! But we will see what happens next. We don't really know how much longer we will even be in the Enchanted Forest so..."  
"Good for you Regina!" Snow Said  
"Good luck Tink replied"  
"I am going to go get ready to meet him. I will talk to you later. Bye!" With that Regina walked back to her chambers to prepare for her meeting with Robin. 

When she heard a light knock on her door, Regina stood up form her desk, smoothed out her dress, and walked to the door knowing very well who was most likely on the other side of her door. However, she was surprised when she saw not one, but two people standing at her door. She saw Robin and his son standing on the other side of her door. She motioned for them to come in.  
"I'm Sorry Regina but no one could watch him and I don't like to leave him alone. I just didn't want to not come see you, and I hoped you wouldn't mind if he came with me." Robin said apologetically.  
"No, no! it's absolutely fine. You're a very good father to think of him no matter what. I admire you for that."  
"Roland, this is Regina, do you remember Regina?"  
"Hi Regina! I'm Roland!" he said  
"Hello Roland. It is good to finally meet you, formally." Of course they had already encountered one another but she didn't want to say that to the 5 year old.  
"Roland, why don't you so sit out on the balcony while me and Regina talk." he turned to Regina "Is that okay with you?"  
"Yes, of ocurse it is. Go right ahead Roland"

They both watched as the young boy went over to the balcony, making sure he was safe. Then they turned to each other.

"Hi" he said  
"Hi" she replied with a smile  
"Now, why is it you wanted to meet" He asked.  
"I wanted to talk about yesterday, about the kiss."  
"Ah, yes. The Kiss. Well, I quite liked it, how about you?"  
"I did as well." She felt like a little school girl, she could feel her face blushing at his remark. "I just wanted to know where you wanted to go from here"  
"Well, Like I told you yesterday. I am open to the possibility a relationship and I am hoping that, this relationship could bee with you. I hope you know that I like you Regina. I know that you are going through a lot right now between the loss of your son and trying to defeat this sister of yours. But I want you to know that I am here for you, in what ever capacity you choose."  
wow this man really had a way of words, Regina thought."Thank you for the encouragement. I feel the same way towards you. I don't know what is lying ahead of me but I would feel better if I knew I had you at my side."

After saying all this, they kissed again and after a couple of seconds passed they remembered that Roland was with them. They tunred their attention to him, and then back to each other. They spent the rest of the day together and just talked, and got to know each other better. They also spent time playing with Roland, and Robin marveled at the maternal side of Regina.

"Who knew the Evil Queen had such a way with Kids" he said.  
She slapped his arm playfully and replied "Hey cool it with the whole 'Evil Queen' stuff. I am trying to get passed that, plus I would rather not have your son see me or think of me as _that_ person." 

They continued talking and just being with each other until it was time for dinner. Robin and his son left the room first and a few minuets later Regina followed suit. They all sat together at dinner and had a pleasant evening. During diner Snow and Tink both passed understanding and happy glances towards her, and she was finally happy. She was happy for an entire day. Little did she know that tomorrow, everything would change.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7:

The next day after breakfast the 3 of them go out in search of the Witch, and they come across a door in the forest. When they see it, Snow walks straight through the door, and Charming follow her. Regina follows Charming saying "clever, random door with a cheap cloaking spell" but when she walks up to it, she doesn't go through the door. While inside Snow and David find Glinda, and she tells them that only light magic can defeat the wicked witch. "Our daughter, she's the savior, the product of true love. She can do it" Snow says. Glinda tells them that they need to get to her in order to defeat the witch. They leave the portal and tell Regina what they just learned.

"The only way to get to them is another dark curse" Regina says. "I can't do another one, the only person I love is Henry and I he isn't here"

"Use my heart" says Charming.

"No! I won't do it! There has to be another way" Snow says, on the verge of tears.

"There is no other way and you know it."

"But I don't want our baby to grow up without their father. It needs you, _I_ need you"

"It will know me, through you. I know you, and you will be a great mother."

After Charming convinced her they all walked back to the Castle to recreate this dark cure using Charming's heart. Regina put all the ingredients into a caldron in the courtyard where Zelina had her shield up. When the time came for Regina to take David's heart snow started to protest again.

"I can't do this, no, I can't" she said

"Look at me Snow, Look at me. I know you can do this, I know you can" he says trying to comfort his wife.

"I can't live without you; I don't know what life is without you. I can't crush your heart"

"You have to. I know this is not the ending we had envisioned but I know you can do this. You are strong and you know I will always be with you"

"How? How am I supposed to raise this baby on my own, I need you. It can't grow up not knowing you"

"But it will know me, through you. We are of one heart, so anything you do will come from me as well. Our baby will be loved by the both of us, whether I am with you or not"

"I have loved you since the day we meet" she says fighting back tears.

With her face in his hands he says "I will love you until my last"

With that they shared their last kiss, and snow turned and crushed his heart into the caldron. When Charming collapsed, snow ran to his side and wept over his body.

Regina turns to snow "he won't die in vain, I promise Snow"

Just then Zelina flew in, and dropped something into the caldron.

"You don't mind if I spice up your little curse do you sis? How about a little memory spell?"

"Zelina, what are you doing here." Regina said.

"You didn't think you could cast another dark curse without me knowing about it, did you?"

"What have you done Zelina?"

With that Zelina flew away, while laughing manically at the events that just occurred. She had just ruined her sister's spell and now in this new land no one would know who she is!

Snow tried to revive her Prince by using true love's kiss but it didn't work. So she came up with a plan.

"Rip out my heart!"

"What?" Regina quickly replies

"Do it Regina! Please! Rip out my heart"

"No! If I rip out your heart, you will die. I won't do that."

"No, David said that we share a heart. I need you to rip out my heart and split it, so charming can live."

"But you don't know if that will work."  
"I don't care, I have to try" Snow said, with a hopeful voice.

Regina see's the hope that is reflected in Snow's face. In another time Regina would have loved the reveled in the pain she saw in the woman's face, the woman who was her former enemy. Yes, Regina felt that Snow was an acquired taste, one that she has yet to be completely used to, but now she watch her suffer so. She also has been where Snow is when she held her Daniel in her arms after her Cora ripped his heart out. She knows what it feels like to hold the man you love in your arms after just watching his heart being crushed, knowing you will never see him again. Regina wouldn't wish this kind of pain on anyone, not even her former step-daughter who for a long time she blamed for the death of her true love. So, Regina obliged to Snow's pleading. She ripped out Snow's heart and broke it in 2, she then placed both halves into the couples' bodies right before the curse could take them to this other land. She didn't know what was going to happen with this new curse, but all she knew was she now had a new sense of hope. In her time in the forest she had actually made friends that she could stand, sometimes they got a little pushy but what can you do, it is better than nothing. She is no longer that girl who was practically held in her husband's castle with no friends and not a soul to talk to besides Rumpelstiltskin. She was becoming a changed woman, yes this change was slow and gradual, but it was still happening and she was almost looking forward to seeing what might happen next. Maybe, just maybe, she'll see her son again!


	9. Chapter 9: Storybrooke

**Storybrooke**

Regina woke up and found herself in her familiar white walled bedroom, and she knew immediately where she was, Storybrooke. Instinctively she woke up and went to check on her son, but was stuck with grief when she opened the door to a blue striped room, with no one inside. When she saw that her son was not in his room, but in New York City with his birth mother her body ached, and she felt like her was about to vomit. The last thing she remembered was watching him leave main, and head towards his new home. Regina decided that she needed to get up and start her day, because she needs to figure out what is going on with the other people in town. She heads first to the Nolan's house.

Mary Margret Nolan wakes up suddenly when she feels something move in her stomach. She was speechless when she looked down and saw that her stomach was huge. All she could do was make her husband wake up, so she hit him to wake him up. He woke up and was trying to figure out what his wife was freaking out about. When he saw her stomach he jumped out of bed and said " You're Pregnant! How?"  
"I have no idea! One minuet we are at the town line saying goodbye to Emma, and the next I wake up pregnant!" After this freak out, they were calming down and decided that the only thing they could do was to try and make sense of this situation. They went down to the kitchen and get breakfast going, and while they were doing this there was a knock on the door. When they opened the door it was none other than Regina Mills on the other side.

"Come in Regina" David says

"Mary Margret, Oh Lord! You're Huge!"

"Wow, Thanks Regina!"

"What is the last thing you remember Regina?" Snow asked

"The last thing I remember is standing at the town line, saying goodbye to Henry, and reversing Pan's Curse"

"That's what I remember too...so how the heck did I wind up pregnant, because I certainly wasn't then"

"We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to figure out why we are back here" Regina says

When Regina went to other people in town everyone had the same reaction, and she really wasn't making any progress on finding out what happened. She decided that she had had enough for one day, so she returned home and made herself some dinner. After he lonely dinner for one she retreated to her room, and after a long day, she feel right asleep.

While Regina was about the town the Nolan's had a very surprising visitor. When they hear the knock on their door, David went to see who was at their door, but was not prepared when the person on the other side was his daughter, Emma Swan.

"Emma?"Mary Margret said shocked, yet happily.  
"Hey Guys." Emma replied shyly.  
"What are you doing here? How did you get here?" David inquired.  
"Hook found me in New York and he gave me a memory potion so I would remember everything."  
"What about Henry?" Her mother replied  
"He only had enough potion for one person so Henry just thinks that I came here for work"  
"Who's going to tell Regina?"  
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it" "I have to go get Henry, we're going to Granny's. If you want you can join us and I can introduce you as friends of mine"  
"Sounds great, see you soon" With that, Emma left her parents apartment and went to get her son and go to Granny's.

"Here you go, one cup of hot chocolate" Ruby says while delivering a cup of hot chocolate to Henry."Wait! I didn't ask for cinnamon on my drink. How did you know I wanted it?"  
"You have a...cinnimon kind of face"Ruby says trying to make up for her slip up. Thankfully he just ignored her lame excuse.  
"Hey Emma!" Mary Margret and David walk into Granny's  
"Hey guys. Henry these are some friends of mine, Mary Margret and David"  
"How do you know each other?" the boy asks.  
"Here." "Phoenix" Emma and Mary Margret say at the same time.  
"Well, Phoenix then here"Emma says"  
"I thought you were only in phoenix while you were in that place."  
"We we were cell mates"  
"What were you in for?"  
"Banditry..."Mary Margret says shyly, realizing how horrible of an excuse that was.

After that the four of them sat down and they all had breakfast together. They were all getting along and it was almost like nothing had happened. Everything was fine until they all the sudden heard something crash to the floor, and when the looked up they saw Regina Staring at Henry. She couldn't believe her eyes, Her son was sitting right in front of her. "I'm sorry if I startled you." she said  
"you didn't startle me."  
"Um...Henry. This is Regina Mills, the Mayor of Storybrooke" Emma jumped in.  
"It's nice to meet you Madam Mayor"  
"You to Henry. What Do you think of our little town?" Regina asked  
"It's nice, very quite."  
"If you would like, one day I can give you a town. Then you can see all the beautiful parts of our little town."  
"Yeah, that would be cool!"  
"Okay. Well I have to go. Good to see you all, and it was very nice to meet you Henry." Regina said before walking out the door.

Regina felt numb after that encounter, she just had a conversation with her son, without him even knowing who she was. She cannot wait until Henry gets his memories, but until then, her life will be very empty. Regina didn't even notice but after she left the diner, she simply started walking. She only noticed when she found herself walking into the woods. She stopped whens she saw a man with a crossbow pointed at her.  
"Who are you? How dare you point that weapon at me!" She barked.  
"I'm terribly sorry m'lady. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Robin, Robin of Locksley." The man said  
"_You're_ Robin Hood, Prince of the Thieves."  
"Well I don't see it that way, but if we are using labels than that would make _you_, the Evil Queen. Am I right?"  
"I...prefer Regina" she paused, "Have we meet before? I feel like I know you." she continued.  
"No, I think I would have remembered if I had met you. One would have a hard time forgetting someone like you" he said charmingly.  
"Well, I should be going. See you around. thief!"

Regina then turned and walked back to town and in the direction of the mayoral mansion. She couldn't wait to get home and lock herself in her house, after the day she is having. When she got home, she decided to go straight to bed, so she got herself ready, put on her silk grey pajamas, got a book, and laid in bed. However, she could not go to sleep. She found her mind was completely occupied with Robin, but why? She had never met him, but there was something inside her that was drawn to him, captivated by him even. Eventually she found herself drifting off to sleep with thoughts of the man in the woods running through her mind.

Robin found it very hard to sleep that night. Ever since that woman walked away from him in the woods he could not get her out of his mind. He didn't know why Regina had him in a trance. Here he was trying to tuck in son into bed and all he could thing of was her. Had he ever met her? He knew that back in the Enchanted Forest he had stolen from her many years ago and often found his face plastered on her wanted posters, but they had never really crossed paths. He would have to talk to her again, maybe she could help him figure out why she seems so familiar so...safe. He wonders if she feels the same way, maybe she is having the same trouble sleeping that he is having.


End file.
